Practically all progress in the world has been made by those who did more than their share, “more than they were supposed to do.”<\/p>\n
Our independence was won by George Washington and his men who “did more than they were supposed to do” as they suffered privation at Valley Forge while others were living in luxury not far away. Many a lad has been set up in business or given a college education by parents who “did more than they were supposed to do” while neighbor boys are left without a start in life by satisfied parents. Many a sick child has been brought back to health by a sacrificing mother who did more than her share.<\/p>\n
The church of the Lord has been established in many places in America by sacrificing Christians who did far more than their share – they could have worshipped down the street – but they did more than they were supposed to do (according to the opinion of men) and established the Lord’s church.<\/p>\n
Most of the work around the church building is done by Christians who “do more than they are supposed to do” while many are perfectly willing that they should do it. (This reminds me of something I heard one time. A preacher was asked if there was anyone at the church where he preached that was willing to work. He said, “Everyone in this church is willing, five percent are willing to work, and the other 95 percent are willing to let them do it.” – t.t.). If it were not for those who do more than they are supposed to do by giving themselves, this congregation wouldn’t grow but would stagnate and die.<\/p>\n
After all, “doing more than we are supposed to do” as men judge is the very crux of Christianity. It means ‘going more than halfway,’ ‘turning the other cheek,’ ‘loving one’s enemies,’ ‘praying for those who persecute us,’ ‘giving money to the needy,’ and ‘working for the Lord while others are engaged in pleasure.’ Yes, it means all this and more. But this will bring eternal life for the faithful, all of whom “did more than they were supposed to do.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Harry E. Rice Practically all progress in the world has been made by those who did more than their share, “more than they were supposed to do.” Our independence was won by George Washington and his men who “did more than they were supposed to do” as they suffered privation at Valley Forge while…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[70,54,55],"class_list":["post-59966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-duties","tag-obedience","tag-works"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-my-parents-taught-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":59966,"position":0},"title":"What My Parents Taught Me","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Vanguard Magazine, November 1982 All parents teach their children - consciously, subconsciously, positively, negatively, by example, by word. Children are even taught to be what their parents fail to teach. In our generation, many parents have abdicated their teaching roles to TV, schools, their children's peers,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":791,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-apostles-baptized-in-the-name-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":59966,"position":1},"title":"Were the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Were the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus? Answer: Right after telling Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom unless they are born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5), we read in\u00a0John 3:22, \"After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42311,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-am-i-supposed-to-get-from-john-112\/","url_meta":{"origin":59966,"position":2},"title":"What am I supposed to get from John 1:12?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning. I really don't know. What am I supposed to get from reading and studying the Bible? For instance: \"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.\" What should this mean\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56273,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-folly-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":59966,"position":3},"title":"The “Folly” of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ethan R. Longhenry This was not the expected script. The time, of course, was right. Four grand empires had been prophesied (cf. Daniel 2, 7); Babylon and Medo-Persia were long gone, the age of the Greeks was over, and Rome was now in power. He was supposed to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40318,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if\/","url_meta":{"origin":59966,"position":4},"title":"What If …?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Leach via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 9, No. 11, November 2009 I am familiar with a situation wherein a young female college student became pregnant out of wedlock. This young Christian and her parents experienced a range of emotions unlike any others in their lifetime. It has now been more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3542,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-honoring-your-mother-and-father-mean-following-their-religious-beliefs\/","url_meta":{"origin":59966,"position":5},"title":"Does “honoring your mother and father” mean following their religious beliefs?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just reading\u00a0the essay on your website about \"honoring your father and mother\". I have been doing some research on the meaning of the word \"honor\", and I was wondering if you could answer a question for me, or just give me your opinion? 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